Open agenda may indicate pope’s desire for collegiality.

Vatican City: Pope Francis has summoned heads of the Vatican’s various congregations and pontifical councils, meaning the cardinals and archbishops who run the place, for a rare joint meeting Tuesday. The idea may be to take stock of the new papacy at its six-month mark, though the unknowns about the encounter outnumber the certainties. At this stage, it’s not clear what topics may come up, who’s going to speak or in what order, and whether the pope may use the occasion to announce further personnel moves or structural changes. The gathering is sandwiched between two key developments — the Aug. 31 announcement of Italian Archbishop Pietro Parolin as the Vatican’s new Secretary of State and the looming Oct. 1-3 meeting of the council of eight cardinals created by Francis to advise him on church governance. As a result, it may be a chance for the pope to solicit feedback on decisions already made and to talk about what’s still ahead. Watch the NCR Today blog for news about the meeting as it develops.

New Delhi: Fr. Thomas d’Aquino Sequeira, a Scripture scholar and Church historian who advocated interfaith dialogue at grassroots, died of cancer early today in the United States. He was 60.

Fr. Sequeira had served as the Deputy Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) for six years until May 31, 2012. He then left to the United States for his doctoral studies while helping in St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, Tracy, California.

A press note from the CBCI headquarters in New Delhi that the Goan priest once headed said he was diagnosed with colon cancer in advanced stage two months ago. He then underwent surgery and chemotherapy. The end came at 1:20 pm Monday local time (1:50 pm on Tuesday in India), said the press note issued by Fr. Sequeira’s successor Fr. Joseph Chinnayan.

The note said the Indian Church received the news with deep sorrow. “The CBCI Centre community deeply mourns the sudden demise of Fr. Thomas d’Aquino Sequeira, whose fond memories, this community cherishes with love and gratitude,” it added.

The funeral details are yet to be finalized as the body is to be flown from the US to Goa in coming days.

Fr. Sequeira’s mother died on August 18 at the age of 92.

The priest was a promoter of interfaith faith dialogue at all fronts, especially at parish level. He considered it as a blessing to be a minority in India and used various forums to urged Indian Christians to shed their minority complex.

According to him, the minority status was an invitation to join the majority community for nation building.

The Church, he used to assert, had to engage all its pastoral structures to form human communities where people of all religions work together for common good.

He disapproved limiting interfaith dialogue to occasional meetings of religious leaders, and encouraged such dialogue at village councils where people come together to resolve common problems.

Fr. Sequeira was concerned about increasing attacks on Christians in India, but often told Church groups instead of getting discouraged they should try to remove general misconception about the community.